team created a proof of concept so Fox knew what to expect if they bought the series. Bouchard, who was living in the Mission District of San Francisco at the time, hired some local artists to work on the pilot. These included Jay Howell, the character designer, and Sirron Norris, the background designer. The test animation featured Bob forgetting about his and Linda's wedding anniversary. This proof of concept eventually turned into the pilot episode. The pilot had the same synopsis as the official first episode (aired in 2011) but had both cosmetic and substantial differences. The original pilot can be seen on the DVD release of the first season, released on April 17, 2012. Development Bob's Burgers first appeared on the development slate at Fox on August 6, 2009. On December 1, 2009, Fox ordered 13 episodes for the first season. On May 17, 2010, Fox placed the series on the primetime slate for the 2010–11 television season. A special preview aired on Thanksgiving on November 25, 2010. Setting The setting of the series is officially unnamed, though the town is referred informally among staff writers as "Seymour's Bay". Though informal, the name has appeared during the series: Bob is seen reading a newspaper titled "Seymour's Bay Times" in the season 11 episode "Y Tu Tina También". Series creator Loren Bouchard said early on that the series' location was an indeterminate Northeastern United States shore town (calling the setting a "semi-Springfield"), saying he drew inspiration from several areas (including San Francisco, whose Victorian architecture is mimicked on some of the buildings) for the town's physical appearance. As the series has proceeded, viewers and critics alike have come to a conclusion that the unnamed town is actually in southern New Jersey. The first such episode where the connection is at least attempted is the season three episode "It Snakes a Village,". Additional examples include character Tammy Larsen, who has a phone number with the area code 201, which belongs to the state (although not to the Jersey Shore area). An episode of Archer that featured a crossover between the two series has also furthered the narrative: in the episode "Fugue and Riffs," Sterling Archer is discovered to have been "flipping burgers at the Shore" for several weeks due to a case of amnesia where he believes he is Bob Belcher (Archer and Belcher are both voiced by H. Jon Benjamin).